Consultations - A701 Relief Road and A702 Link Road 2025

What you tell us will help fine tune the planning application before it is submitted in coming weeks.

Background

The new road, connecting Straiton with the A702, is included in the adopted Midlothian Local Development Plan.

The aim of building it is to:

• Boost local jobs and the economy 
• Support new developments along the A701 corridor and make travel safer, more reliable, and more environmentally friendly for people living in the area

The aerial photograph below shows the proposed route.

Current challenges

Why the route is needed:

• The A701 is a busy road that connects Midlothian to Edinburgh and serves key shopping and business areas like Straiton, Bilston, and Loanhead
• At rush hour, the road often gets congested, causing traffic delays and unreliable journey times for both cars and buses
• The road also separates communities in Bilston and Loanhead, and the busy side roads add to the problem.
• Walking and cycling routes are poor quality, and there are safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists in several places along the route

Benefits of building the new route

Key findings:

• The proposed Relief Road gives drivers a new, faster option to avoid the busy A701 and connect between the A702, A701, and A720
• It could cut traffic on parts of the A701 by about 9,000 vehicles a day — that is a 30–40% reduction
• An estimated 15,000 vehicles a day would use the Relief Road between Seafield Moor Road and the Straiton junction
• About 5,000 vehicles a day are expected to use the section between the A702 and Seafield Moor Road.
• Drivers could save around 3 minutes on journeys between Penicuik and Burdiehouse Road (A701).
• Traffic is expected to increase on the A703 (Seafield Moor Road) and Bush Loan, as more drivers use these to reach the new Relief Road

A701 Sustainable Travel Corridor 

The A701 Sustainable Travel Corridor will not be included in the upcoming planning application because most of it does not need planning permission. However, we still want to share  plans so you can see the bigger picture and the benefits the new link road will help support.

What is it?
Initial designs by SYSTRA show a new walking and cycling route between Gowkley Moss Roundabout and the A720/A701 Straiton junction.

It will include:

• A safe, continuous route for walking and cycling along the A701
• New and improved crossings at key junctions
• Better connections between homes, Straiton Retail Park, and other key places
• Links with Safe Routes to School for the new Community High School
• Traffic calming at side roads (raised crossings and tighter corners)
• High-quality paths, properly surfaced and signposted

The design is based on surveys of how people currently walk and cycle in the area.

More details

For more details and the full presentation given at the drop-in event on Thursday 14 August at Bilston Primary School:

• Presentation boards (PDF)

If you are not able to come to the drop-in on Thursday 14 August, you can email your views using the address in the contact details by Thursday 21 August.  

Any comments made are not representations to the Midlothian Council Planning Authority. When the application has been registered formal representations can be made to Planning Authority at that time.